A University of the Arts student and three alumni (one of whom is a current faculty member) are among the nominees for the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards airing live from Los Angeles on February 13, 2011. Making the list are current student Samantha Aurelio '11 (Voice); jazz legend Stanley Clarke '71 (Bass); alumna and School of Music faculty member Anne Sciolla '86 (Voice); and musician/producer Jeremy Grenhart '03 (Piano).

ID Juniors Take Top Spots at Philadelphia Museum of Art's Student Design Competition

University of the Arts Industrial Design juniors James Hughes and Kevin Greenland won first and second place, respectively, for their creations of tabletop accessory sets in the 2010 Collab Student Design Competition of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This year's competition was held in conjunction with the museum's "Alessi: Ethical and Radical" exhibition, celebrating the innovative products of Italian manufacturer Alberto Alessi, recipient of Collab's 2010 Design Excellence Award.

New Dance Director Donna Faye Burchfield Featured in 'Chronicle of Higher Education'

Donna Faye Burchfield, the award-winning dancer, choreographer, dance educator and newly appointed director of the School of Dance at the University of the Arts, was recently profiled in the "Arts & Academe" section of the Chronicle of Higher Education. In the Q&A with freelance journalist Rebecca J. Ritzel, Burchfield talks about her move from North Carolina to Philadelphia, what changes she has in store for the University's Dance programs, and how her past work will influence the development of a dance curriculum designed for the 21st century.

Right: Donna Faye Burchfield with UArts dance students.

Museum Studies MFA Student to Release Children's Book

University of the Arts graduate student Sarah Asper-Smith (Museum Exhibition Planning + Design) is set to release her first book titled Have You Ever Seen a Smack of Jellyfish?: An Alphabet Book (Sasquatch Books; January 2011). After discovering that a group of ferrets is called "a business," the Juneau, Alaska, native became fascinated with the intersection of language and the natural world. Using bold prints overlaid on vibrant colors, the book chronicles some of the surprisingly poetic words we use to describe the magniﬁcent animal kingdom...from an "army of ants" to a "zeal of zebras."

University of the Arts Multimedia Assistant Professor Jeremy Beaudry (below) recently attended the opening of Manifesta 8, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art, as an associate curator. Working collectively as Alexandria Contemporary Arts Forum (ACAF), Beaudry and collaborator Bassam El Baroni co-curated a multi-part project and exhibition in several venues across two cities in Spain. Running for a period of 100 days from October 9, 2010, until January 9, 2011, Manifesta 8 takes place in the cities of Murcia and Cartagena in historical buildings, museums, unconventional spaces and several media channels.